


Divine Gates and Memory Losses

by poeticaid



Series: Divine Gates and Memory Losses [1]
Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Original Work, Philippine Mythology - Fandom
Genre: All Mythologies, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Asian Character(s), Demigods, Dialogue Heavy, Enemies to Co-Workers, Gen, Hotels, Memory Loss, Minor Violence on the first chapter, Mythology Intersects, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Third Person Omniscient, Reformed Villain Tropes, Second Chances, Secret Identity, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Snarky Commentary, TV Tropes, Trust Issues, cliche I know, rated for language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-11-05 11:31:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17917949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poeticaid/pseuds/poeticaid
Summary: In an Alternate Universe in which all mythologies are true, and are separated in each realms, a cult has come to destroy the balance of these realms and the human world, especially after the Divine Gates closed.Azazel Yamato doesn't remember who he is, his memories disintegrated, and what he had done, but he strives to make things right.Asterio Aquiano is tired, living in his friend's shadow, in the past. He tries to move on, from his girlfriend's death, from his father's mysterious call.These two are enemies (even if one doesn't remember), Yamato a member of that malicious cult, and Aquiano a so-called 'Hero' in all realms- but they have to work together to make things right in all the realms, reopen the Divine Gates and ensure peace in the worlds.Oh my gods they were co-workers.





	1. I Get Captured by Hotel Staff

**Author's Note:**

> hi, this fic has been stuck in my mind for five hundred years and after so many discarded fictions i focused on mythology because i love mythology. i also think the summary sucks.

He does not know where he is.

His clothes feel suddenly light, as if they had been shredded to tiny pieces. The sun was making him feel hot and sweaty, blisters forming on his hands and feet. He feels stiff, as if he had been lying on this hot dessert ground for ages. He staggers to actually sit, and he feels his long hair sweep through his shoulders.

He doesn't know why he was there, lying in the ground, below the sweltering heat of the sun, as if it hates him.

Wait a minute.

Where is he?

Why does he look like he went to a drag party (seriously, all of his clothes are rags by this point)?

And if he _does_ look like he got robbed, then why is his wallet still on him?

More importantly, who is he?

How old is he?

He blinks. Wow, he also does not know how old he is. That is such a red flag on how big his predicament was. He fishes out his wallet and looks at all the money inside of it. He also finds his ID.

His name is Azazel Yamato. He has black, choppy and uncut hair that falls to his shoulders. He is Caucasian. He has brown eyes. He seems to be seventeen years old due to his birth date. What a name. Why did his parents agree to name their kid 'Azazel' is out of the question. He sighs and staggers, trying to stand up. After all, he didn't want to be under the sweltering heat for long.

And he realizes that he is quite parched. How long was the last time he had drank water? And unfortunately, he was in the middle nowhere, only the sandy roads as his company. Azazel squints his eyes as he sees a figure from his view. He narrows his eyes. It seems to be a dwelling for people, due to how huge it is, but _why in the hell_ would they build something in the middle of nowhere?

 _Convenient for me_ , he thinks to himself, as he steels himself and starts walking (or, limping, his leg is also busted) all the way to its direction. It was quite a tall building, and it is _disgustingly_ bright. Billboards and neon signs were attached to the building, the paint job a very bright yellow and green, and it was very tall. Like maybe taller than the Empire State Building.

Azazel feels surprised at himself for remembering something like that. Did he ever visit America? Then is he still in the States? He touches one of the building's outer walls, but jumps as he feels a jolt of electricity shock him, and a voice in his mind warning him of this place. Why? Was there something ominous about a hotel building in the middle of nowhere? Well, maybe. But he's desperate to have a drink of water, even for just one gulp.

Still Azazel closes his eyes, trying to remember who he really was, and what had happened to him and how he ended up here. But his mind comes up blank. Alarm reaches his mind. He should have been alarmed when he first woke up, but his thirsty and hungry mind can't think straight at all.

Then to add insult to injury, there was a burning sensation on his arm. He thinks it was finally time for him to catch a sunburn due to the many blisters on his hands and feet, but when he lifts his forearm to his face, all he sees is a strange mark.

A skull embedded by an arrow. That was on _fire_.

"Woah", Azazel whispers to himself, clearly mesmerized. "Metal tattoo." He wonders when he got the tattoo, because he wanted to rate the tattoo artist ten on the meter.

Then a sharp pain spreads throughout his body, as an image flashes through his mind- a boy screaming in pain, as someone draws something out on his arm. What was even more shocking and alarming was that the boy looks a lot like Azazel, but a lot younger, his face full of pain with tears running off his face. The drawing on his arm was the same as the drawing he's seen earlier. Azazel wants to scream as well, but then as if it had been a bad dream, the pain subsides. But Azazel is more haunted than relieved.

He scratches his head, trying to remember what that was, but the image seemed to have disintegrated from his mind. It was as if the image had vanished completely, along with his other memories. If it was a memory.

 _If I got this tattoo through pain,_ Azazel thinks, lifting his forearm back to his face to see the mark again. _Then it sure as hell isn't metal now._

He refocuses his mind and eyes to the building right in front of him, its brass golden doors looking so welcoming and elegant. But his mind and instincts screams for him to back off, that this place is dangerous for someone like him. Why was it dangerous? It was just a hotel... in the middle of... nowhere...

Okay, maybe his instincts and mind are kind of right on this one.

"But still", Azazel whispers to himself, trying to conceal the mark with his tattered sleeve. "I need to drink something. I might die, to be honest."

Azazel, face sweating, hands gripping the handle of the brass doors, opening them slightly, feeling the rush of cool air hit him. He opens it for real this time, and steps into a marble white room, with nothing in it but a marble white desk on the corner, which must be the reception desk. But... there were no doors...

Just in time, a woman in all white decides to walk out from _literally_ nowhere, seemingly walking right through a wall. As she sees him, she freezes, her mouth wide open, her eyes full of horror.

 _I guess seeing a guy wearing nothing but rags is kind of overwhelming_ , Azazel muses as he stares right back at her with his eyes; he didn't know why the assistant screams as if she was about to get stabbed, but there must be something more to his eyes. He notes to himself to never look at anyone directly at their eyes ever again if that's the reaction he was going to get.

Then the woman goes to the white marble desk, heels clacking, and presses a button from under the desk. Alarm bells start to ring, red lights begin to dance around Azazel's eyes. Confused, Azazel runs towards the desk.

"Is seeing a guy in tattered clothes really that aggravating to you?!", he cries over the alarm bells and the ringing in his ears, that were telling him he had been here before, that he was not welcome in this place. And why would he not be? Because everything's marble?

The woman continues to scream further, and Azazel thinks it was actually time to shut his mouth before things got even more confusing for him. Especially when those guards being led by a boy his age with black hair and chestnut skin and eyes went through a wall.

Oh right. The goddamn guards.

Shit.

The boy leading them looks at the woman, then back at Azazel with full-on rage on his face. Like _I-wanna-kill-you-and-resurrect-you-to-kill-you-again_ kind of rage. And that's not good, considering he doesn't remember who the guy is, and what his deal was.

"Azazel Yamato", the guy says, his voice brisk and unwavering, "We keep meeting, and it's getting really annoying."

Azazel blinks, trying to figure out where he had seen the guy before, until his mind decides to improvise and gives him a _tiny_ image of a thirteen year old boy trying to kill another boy with a spear before completely disintegrating like that one memory outside.

 _Goddamn it brain, stop being an idiot!_ Azazel furrows his brow, trying to get that memory back, but was unfortunately interrupted when the guy earlier has a dagger pointed right at him, with an annoying smirk that seems _so_ familiar. Goddamn it brain! Give me something concrete!

"No knives or swords or spears behind your back?", he asks, looking at him up and down. "Damn, you look like shit. You got all cocky and decided you want to this place and challenge me to a duel, with no weapons? Slightly a dick move and more of a death wish to me."

Azazel was really annoyed by this guy right now. Who is he? Why does he treat him like a piece of crap? Okay, maybe because he _might_ be an asshole in the past, which is really frustrating him, because, mentioned a hundred times earlier, he doesn't know anything.

"Um, so you know who I am?", Azazel asks, trying for a smile. The guy was not amused, raising a brow.

"'Course I do!", he exclaims. "You're Azazel Yamato, leader of the Cult of Many Things Bad! Always the evil's right hand man, vowing to destroy all mythological realms because your are evil and that's what evil guys do. What, you don't remember? You playing bluff on me?"

Azazel straight up shrugs, still flinching on how close the dagger still pointed at his neck. "Actually, yeah, the former. By the way, who're you?"

The boy sputters, and he glares at Azazel. "Asterio Aquiano. Sound familiar?"

"Uh... no? I literally told you that I don't remember anything."

"Yeah, like I'd believe that." He exchanges his dagger with a spear and uses it to try to stab Azazel, who luckily steps out in time.

"Dude, Aster- or whatever your name is- can you _not_ kill me when I'm trying to remember who I was?", he asks as he starts running over the massively big marble room (a detail he forgets to notice because he's an ignorant being) with Aster-whatever running after him with a murderous expression and a decorative spear.

"Why aren't you even fighting back?", Aster-whatever growls.

"Because I don't remember _how_ to fight back like that! So I'm just going to scream and hope someone's going to help me."

"No one's going to help you, Yamato!" Asterio throws his spear at him as Azazel runs towards the exit.

Azazel tries to dodge the spear again, but this time, it did not work like it did before and it actually nicks him on the foot. He grunts in pain, his running faltering and slowing down, as he tries to reach for the exit doors, which seems to be so far away even if it was just a few feet away earlier.

"Jeez, did he forget that little charm I did to the doors?", a female voice speaks up from the guards.

"Pretty much!", Azazel replies, slowing down, trying to figure out who that was, which was a bad move since Asterio takes out his dagger again and pretty much pierced the previously nicked foot. Azazel cries out in pain as Asterio puts his legs over his shoulder. "Goddamn, it seems that I like getting distracted."

"Good to see you're still as snarky as ever." Asterio mutters as he drags the still bleeding Azazel to the guards. Then he drops him in front of them, with Azazel muttering and groaning in pain. "Patch him up and bring him to one of the hotel rooms. I'll take him tomorrow morning for questioning."

Azazel's ears are ringing, as he tries desperately to stay awake, to stop staring at his jacked up foot, which was pretty much flowing with blood. Asterio appears on his peripheral vision, a smirk on his face. He really wants to punch that guy in the face.

"I'll punch you sooner or later." Azazel manages to grit out. Asterio rolls his eyes, as if he's heard that promise a lifetime ago.

"Gods, what happened to you?", he asks as he follows the guards as they walk through the doors; like the doors weren't _solid_ or anything. As Azazel passes through them, all he sees is darkness for a second, but then he gets temporarily blinded after they drag him through the wall. The hallways were a pastel nightmare, pink and neon green plastered on the walls, with disco lights luminating the hallway.

"What do you mean, what happened to me?", Azazel croaks out, still trying to stay awake.

Asterio looks at him with pursed lips. His arms were crossed, his spear on his back and his dagger back at his hilt. "Like, you're the strongest and most athletic of the Cult's warriors. And you let yourself get nicked by me?"

The woman in white from earlier kneels down to Azazel's level and takes out a vial, and puts it under his nose. Azazel holds his breath, but after a few seconds, he lets go and breathes in some of it (he's... not that flexible, that's for sure) and suddenly feels drowsy.

 _I let myself inhale a sleeping potion_ , Azazel thinks. _Nice._

"I... don't... know..." was the last thing Azazel says before his mind goes blank, his body rigid, and his conciousness sweeps away from him.

Who knew he'd get kidnapped by hotel staff?

* * *

He did. And he doesn't like it at all.

He wakes up in a bed, thankfully not in the middle of nowhere this time, and, thankfully, not that thirsty and hungry this time. Which is good. What's not good was that his right ankle and wrist were tied on the bed frame. But he's actually relieved they patched his wounded foot up.

He studies his room. The bed he was sleeping in was a light aqua with nice floral decorations on the sheets. The walls were a nice shade of pale green, which wasn't really that complementary to the bed. There was a nice desk on the corner, though it was really dusty and seems to not have been used in a while.

"This sucks in both ways", he says, as the door to his room opens. Asterio Aquiano comes in, battle stance with a spear behind him. His wavy black hair was tied to a short ponytail, his brown eyes hardened at the sight of Azazel, yet his mouth was in a smirk.

"The great Azazel Yamato", Asterio says snidely, clapping slowly as he makes his way to Azazel. "Finally trapped inside Hotel MYth."

"That's the name of this place?", Azazel asks, glaring at Asterio straight in the eyes. "Sounds like a soap brand of some kind."

Asterio's smirk fades as Azazel is confronted with a hard glare. His steps echo on the hard floor as he makes his way to him, dramatic moments and all. He sits right beside Azazel, which kinda makes Azazel uncomfortable due to Asterio claiming they're enemies and them now sitting close in contact.

"Don't insult the mythological intersections, Yamato", he snarls.

"Well, I want to insult whatever you just said." Azazel raises an eyebrow. He clearly does not look threatening, tied up on a bed, but neither does Asterio, who was sitting beside him and glaring like a cat caught in a yarn.

"Then we'll just take you to the head gods. They'd vaporize you easily enough."

Azazel curiously blinks at the mention of the word 'gods'. "What do you mean by 'head gods'?"

Asterio furrows his eyebrow, whilst biting his upper lip. He seems concerned, but it's obviously not because of Azazel's well being. "Seriously? You also don't remember the many times you swore and cursed at the head gods?"

Azazel slowly shakes his head. "Amnesia, remember?"

"I still don't believe you."

"Come on!" Azazel tries to sit up, trying not to move his wounded foot that much. "I can't fight like how you described me. And plus, I'm pretty sure my past self won't stand getting captured, now I'm here. I also don't know about the head gods you were talking about. Believe me now?"

"Nah."

"Fuck you."

Asterio stands, walking to the doors. Before leaving, he says, "You too, Yamato. You'll be brought into trial in... twenty minutes. Get ready, because no one's going to play defense with you."

"Nice reassurance for a goddamn amnesiac", Azazel calls right after him, and he was left to wallow in his confusion alone.

Azazel sighs, looking around the room with dejected loneliness. What did he do to these people that they resort in a violent reaction when he entered the building. Which was called Hotel _MYth_ , out of all things they want to name a hotel. It kinda does sound like a soap brand, who was that guy kidding?

"This really, really sucks", Azazel sighs, blowing his black hair out of his face. He didn't need to go all emo around that guy.

But the name Asterio Aquiano sounds really familiar...

Azazel shrugs. "If I don't know who he is, that's fine; I won't press my brain for any further details on our enemyship."

He stares at the gray walls with a blazing fury in his eyes, as if they were responsible for his predicament in the first place. He wishes he can remember what his life was before he woke up in the middle of nowhere. But he also didn't want to remember his past if that's how they'd react to him. Was he _that_ bad of a person in the past if they didn't want to believe his claim on being an amnesiac?

He continues staring at the wall again.

Seconds pass.

Minutes pass.

Azazel hears the door open, and a slim woman who looks like she was in her late thirties steps through the door. She was also wearing a white dress, though it doesn't suit her wrinkled face. Her lips were covered in bright lipstick, her wavy black hair on one side of her shoulder. She was definitely _not_ rocking the high heels. It kinda makes her look like a chicken.

She looks at Azazel with an disinterested expression. Azazel really wants to punch everyone who does that expression. They were the people who captured him! My god!

"Ah, Azazel Yamato, I come to fetch you to the trial room." Even her voice sounds like a dying fish. "I am Ms. Arlene Fish, your prosecutor."

"You're my prosecutor? Then why are you fetching me to the trials?"

"Because I want to."

 _Nice excuse, fish breath_ , Azazel thinks, rolling his eyes. He didn't even bother when Ms. Fish removes the binds holding him together. Azazel stands, and tries to walk at the same pace as Ms. Fish, but limps instead because his foot pretty much hurts from having a minor injury yesterday.

He follows Ms. Fish through the hallways, still getting befuddled that they have to walk through walls, and end up in brighter rooms. Azazel recalls that they have gone through seven walls. Just how big are the buildings to have _seven_ hallways? They finally stop when Azazel sees the second door he's seen in this hotel.

"What's in this door?", Azazel asks. It was white and marble, the door handles made out of it as well. Ms. Fish crosses her arms.

"If you truly don't remember", she replies, opening the doors and stepping inside, followed by a limping Azazel. "You tried to assassinate a god here, by the name of Osiris."

Azazel's eyes widen. God? What did she mean by god? Osiris? The Egyptian god of the afterlife? How did he even try to assassinate a god? "I don't remember."

"What a shame that you do not remember the times you have tried to bomb the mythological intersections and realms."

Azazel walks in and finds a crowd of people seated on benches, Asterio sitting on a podium right next to a bigger one with another person standing on it. That must be the judge of this jury. But she didn't look no older than sixteen.

 _So, they're putting my fate into a sixteen year old_ , Azazel muses, heart beating faster than ever.

He is _so_ doomed.


	2. My Enemy Gets Gardening Skills

Asterio's day was going really well for someone who almost gets killed on a daily basis.

Ever since Azazel went missing a month ago (which is quite bizarre, to say the least), life was pretty normal in the Hotel and the other mythological realms. Even that stupid Cult of theirs went silent. Which was suspicious, but come on, give him a break. Give everyone in the realms a chance to take a break.

After the First Divine War against Yamato's cult and his boss, the realms have been slowly recovering, which was quite a slow process, but they give everything they had to ensure peace reach all realms. Hotel MYth and other intersections are working on everything they could to help everyone who had fought in the war make them feel at home.

Asterio is one of them, having protected his own realms and Hotel MYth. He got a fracture, but there's nothing a healer couldn't fix.

And Marilyn...

Asterio tries not to thinks about her too much. But whenever he closes his eyes, or tries to sleep at night, he's tossing and turning at the prospect of seeing her getting devoured by those damned wendigos. The only thing that reminds him of her is the clothes that had been shredded. He smells them every night, always remembering her jasmine like scent.

Things got worse when two weeks ago, all realms and intersections didn't contact them. It also got worse when they can't pass through the gates through all realms unless you have a quest to do, which isn't that mandatory anymore after the war ended. And _no_ monsters to fight. That sucks balls the most.

At least Yamato vanished out of thin air after they won. That way, Asterio wouldn't have to worry about an ~~uncharacteristically attractive and soft-voiced~~ assassin jumping out of the shadows and trying to kill him. Which is quite nice, that he could sit back and relax, reading his _Mythological Inaccuracies: Volume One_ book at lunch time with his friends.

Asterio watches a fight between Belle Wolf and Darren Tamia break out again in the dining halls. Asterio really didn't care about their lover's quarrel, though they really need to stop dragging out their flirting.

"Gods, when will they get their shit together?", Asterio asks his best friend, Adelpha Aine. She grins.

"Knowing them, they'd get their shit together after twenty years or so", she replies.

Asterio laughs. Adelpha, being a daughter of Venus Genetrix, Roman counterpart of Aphrodite, is one of the prettiest girls he ever knew. Brown hair and pink eyes, she was basically everyone's perfect girl if you only looked at the way she talks, the way she dresses, the way she looks.

_If_ you only looked at her.

She was one of the most stubborn and stern women he had ever met, and she knows how to beat someone in a duel, even when she's wearing a skimpy dress while going out with her friends in a bar. Because that actually happened. Also, she knows how to kick Yamato in the face with a heel.

Asterio blinks. His mind always goes back to his nemesis. He and Yamato had been at it seven years ago, when they were both ten years old. Yamato had tried to ~~recruit~~ brainwash Asterio into joining their organization, a secret cult known only to the members, but mostly it just tries to slowly destroy Earth for some reason.

The last time he had seen him, they were fighting near the Joren Waterfalls, near the Jorogumo's lairs. The plan was to lure Azazel into the cave and leave him there at the spider woman's mercy. But then Asterio mistepped and almost fell into the waterfall, if not Yamato hadn't caught him in time.

_Almost there._

_He and Yamato were at the edge of the waterfalls. Below was the Jorogumo's cave, and Asterio only needs to put Yamato in his place._

_But killing him? Even indirectly? Asterio wasn't sure if he can allow that as well._

_Yamato's ebony black hair was flowing through the wind, more and more tendrils escaping his hair bun. He had his 'serious and stoic' look on his face, his sky blue eyes focused on slashing and trying to kill Asterio. Asterio likes looking at him in the eyes, as his mother says that it helps him define who a person is underneath._

_Yamato's eyes consist of pain, focus, and sadness._

_Yamato had decided it was an appropriate time to wear Japanese armor in this realm, because, hey, he's still Japanese._

_They continued to fight until their very last breath. Asterio was all ready panting as he walks backwards, unknowingly going to fall of his death if he takes one more step. Yamato was one of the Cult's best fighters, knows how to use every single weapon in the universe, much to Asterio's chagrin._

_He could never be like him._

_"You are trying to get yourself killed, Aquiano", the said person in question said, sweating but focused on at least getting a mark on Asterio._

_Asterio chuckled, despite the dire situation he was in. "Nah, you're the one getting killed."_

_Yamato raised a brow as he continued to close the distance between them. Asterio kept on dodging any attacks._

_"You are the one-" Yamato started to say but then when he trusted his sword at Asterio's direction, Asterio instinctively took a step back, which was a wrong move, as he fell backwards towards the waterfall-_

_Only to be caught by Yamato._

_Asterio looked up. He was supposed to be falling to his death, while Yamato was supposed to be watching everything with a smirk on his face. So why did he catch him?_

_He then is hauled up by Yamato, and he was extremely confused to why one of the most emotionless people in the world had an expression of concern etched across his face. Asterio sat on the green grass, looking up at Yamato's face, which casually morphed back to his usual emotionless face, yet his eyes have something more to say._

_"Why did you-?"_

_Before he could complete his question, Yamato vanished. Like always when he tries to escape confrontation._

Asterio was brought out from his flashbacks when a large alarm bell sounded from the main area, alerting all the hotel staff in the cafeteria. Asterio pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing and looking annoyed.

"He just _had_ to show up eventually", Adelpha deadpans with a roll of her eyes as she gets up from her seat on the table. Everyone knows that Azazel would come to wreck their day. It was like a routine to them now; Azazel breaking into the hotel and trying to wreck havoc, while the others try to stop him and catch him.

Asterio takes his spear and puts it on his back, and assembles all of his closest comrades as they go through the walls and into the main entrance. What surprised him wasn't Alahana Jackson screaming near the desk (she does that every time Yamato breaks in) but a boy who doesn't look like Yamato _one bit_ .

His black hair was choppy and lengthy, falling past his shoulders. Yamato would always tie his hair into a clean bun than leave it like that. His clothes are ragged, and he was wearing an aviator's jacket too big for him, a torn black shirt and brown leather pants. Yamato always comes to battle prepared, armor and such. He is not holding a weapon, nor does he have his hilt full of daggers. Yamato packs his daggers and keeps his sword sheathed almost daily when they see each other. His eyes, his sky blue eyes, were brighter and more confused than fierce and determined. Yamato's eyes were half-lidded, dark, cold and fierce.

He isn't Yamato.

But for some reason, he is, because he just _is_.

He looks a lot like the Yamato he knows, but at the same time, he doesn't.

Asterio furrows his brow as he says, "Azazel Yamato." He tries to keep his irritation and anger out of his voice. "We keep meeting, and it's getting annoying." And it really is.

Yamato was strangely silent for a few seconds. Asterio keeps his mouth shut. Yamato was always the first one to speak, the first one to make a witty comeback. But it looks like Yamato right now knows absolutely _nothing_ about their dynamic. Asterio then moves forward and catches Azazel with his dagger pointed at his neck. _Strange_. He was really good at dodging. He seems to be thinking, and Asterio, being impatient, speaks up again.

"No knives or swords behind your back?", Asterio asks, looking at him up and down. It makes it even harder to believe that this is the guy who tried to kill him a lot of times. "Damn, you look like shit. You got all cocky and decided you want to this place and challenge me to a duel, with no weapons? Slightly a dick move and more of a death wish to me."

He sees Yamato's signature flash of irritation across his eyes, then it turns to something unrecognizable.

Yamato tries for a smile, which bewilders Asterio internally, because he was not the type of guy to curve his lips upwards. It was always that small smirk, and it ~~makes Asterio's day~~ annoys Asterio in so many ways.

"Um, so you know who I am?", Yamato asks. Asterio wasn't amused, and raises an eyebrow. Even if he hardly believes that the guy standing in front of him was Yamato, maybe he was playing with them. He decides to try and jog his memory.

"'Course I do!", he exclaims. "You're Azazel Yamato, leader of the Cult of Many Things Bad! Always the evil's right hand man, vowing to destroy all mythological realms because you are evil and that's what evil guys do. What, you don't remember? You playing bluff on me?"

There was no recognition in Yamato's eyes, but he flinches under the mercy of the dagger. His shrug was not like the Yamato he knew. Yamato has a cruel, more forced shrug, _he_ has none of his uptight nature. Asterio fills his insides churn at the thought of his enemy not remembering who he was and why he was here. He was always used to their dynamic of trying to catch or kill each other every single day, and after the battles and Yamato temporarily missing, his routing had not been the same after he disappeared and Marilyn got...

He swallows bile from his throat. There is _no way_ he was going to think of her.

"Actually, yeah, the former. By the way, who're you?"

Asterio's knees wobble just a bit, but he holds on tight to the dagger. He sputters, trying to form words. From his peripheral vision, Adelpha and Alahana were whispering to each other, probably about Yamato's confusion and memory loss.

Asterio wants to buy it, but he has a job to do.

"Asterio Aquiano. Sound familiar?" he glares at Yamato.

Yamato furrows his brows. "Uh... no? I literally told you that I don't remember anything."

Asterio really wants to sleep, wants Azazel to leave unharmed. But he cannot allow that. "Yeah, like I'd believe that." Asterio instinctively exchanges his dagger for his spear and tries to distract Yamato with, who steps out of line in time. Asterio grunts in frustration. Even if he doesn't have his memories or his moves, he can still dodge a spear.

"Dude, Aster- or whatever your name is- can you _not_ kill me when I'm trying to remember who I was?", he asks as he starts running around the room with Asterio running after him with his spear. He was going to catch Azazel. That's what he's going to do to please all the gods in the realms, to let them lift the closed gate policy they have. And also because Azazel was not pronouncing his name right.

"Why aren't you even fighting back?", Asterio growls as he chases Azazel Yamato across the room, which must've been funny for his friends.

"Because I don't remember _how_ to fight back like that! So I'm just going to scream and hope someone's going to help me."

"No one's going to help you, Yamato!" Asterio throws his spear at him as Azazel runs towards the exit, which is strange since Adelpha had put an enchantment in that door. It was enchanted so that everyone, even Hotel MYth employees, wouldn't leave the hotel easily. It goes through horror movie logic and it is _nice_.

Azazel tries to dodge the spear again, but this time, it did not work like it did before and it actually nicks him on the foot. He grunts in pain, his running faltering and slowing down, as he tries to reach for the exit doors, which seems to be so far away even if it was just a few feet away earlier. A feeling of triumph is felt by Asterio. Finally, he gets a hit on Yamato.

"Jeez, did he forget that little charm I did to the doors?", Adelpha Aine says from the back of the guards.

"Pretty much!", Azazel replies, slowing down, trying to figure out who that was, which was a bad move since Asterio takes out his dagger again and pretty much pierced the previously nicked foot. Azazel cries out in pain as Asterio puts his legs over his shoulder. "Goddamn, it seems that I like getting distracted."

Asterio wants to smile but Azazel, though skinny, is pretty heavy, or maybe Asterio's really weak when it comes to carrying people.

"Good to see you're still as snarky as ever." Asterio mutters as he drags the still bleeding Azazel to the guards. Then he drops him in front of them, with Azazel muttering and groaning in pain. "Patch him up and bring him to one of the hotel rooms. I'll take him tomorrow morning for questioning."

Asterio rolls his eyes and glares at Azazel once more as he says, "I'll punch you sooner or later." He has heard that promise for so long, and though Yamato does follow it, Asterio was really used to it.

"Gods, what happened to you?", he asks as he follows the guards as they walk through the doors. It feels surreal and unroutine- seeing Yamato in bonds and him in a triumph stance. He just wants to know what happened to him this past month.

"What do you mean, what happened to me?", Azazel croaks out, still trying to stay awake.

Asterio looks at him with pursed lips. His arms were crossed, his spear on his back and his dagger back at his hilt. "Like, you're the strongest and most athletic of the Cult's warriors. And you let yourself get nicked by me?" Not to mention how inexperienced he is.

Asterio makes eye contact with Alahana, who takes out a vial full of sleeping potion and puts it under Yamato's nose. Asterio sees that the vial is working- the vial never works against hardened soldiers like Yamato.

"I... don't... know..." was the last thing Azazel says before his mind goes blank, his body rigid, and his consciousness sweeps away from him.

Asterio sighs as he watches his enemy get carried off to his room. Adelpha and Alahana come to stand on either side of him. Alahana was still shell-shocked, but at least she was better.

"Adelpha, tell Ms. Fish that she's about to have a persecution case", Asterio orders, and Adelpha leaves.

Asterio says goodbye to Alahana as he goes to the elevator to his apartment. Yes, this building was called a hotel, but it was full of apartment buildings for those who wish to stay in the mythological realms.

Asterio doesn't stay in the hotel, but he has an apartment in case his stay here extends. Like, right now. He sighs as he turns the key to unlock his apartment. He is greeted by a lot of framed pictures at his desk, coffee table, and the top of his television set. Most of them were him with his friends after finishing a quest, but some of them were him with his mother, Maria Aquiano.

Asterio looks at a lone photo of his mother. He hopes that all gates were open this week, so he can finally greet his mother. Adelpha, Belle, Darren and the others were getting restless by this. They all have second lives. For some example, Asterio goes recruiting demigods and drops them off here in Hotel MYth, but after that, he does his math homework and does his chores.

Yeah, he lives a normal life in the modern world, but since he's stuck (since _trapped_ sounds wrong) in Hotel MYth for a month, that means his mother must've put up missing posters all around the city.

Guilt crawls in his stomach. He should've went home, just like what Adelpha had said, instead of cleaning up.

Maria Aquiano was not a perfect mom, but he loves her. She was the type of mom who keeps her children in bandages after they witness a paper cut, or spoil them to no end. Asterio used to be a spoiled piece of shit, until that fateful day when he sees a tikbalang trying to assault a woman. He had killed it with a rusty pipe, and the woman had thanked him, saving her from that rapist, not a horse-man.

Then later that night, after he finished his English homework, a classmate from his school paid him a visit.

_"Kusunagi?", Asterio asked as his classmate from his school as he toppled over his window. Kusunagi Tsurugi was a Japanese Buddhist, which was strange since most Japanese people were Buddhists. He was the top one student of seventh grade, and was rumored to have cheated on exams before._

_Maria also won't have tolerated a Japanese Buddhist on her window because she's like those people who think that all other kinds of religions are bad and would’ve suspected Kusunagi of murder and would've called the police by now._

_"You killed that horse-man, didn't you?", Kusunagi asks him, getting straight to the point. Like always. He was the bluntest person in school, which was why no one liked him that much._

_"Yeah, and the woman told me it was an ordinary rapist and stuff", Asterio replied. "But I swear that-"_

_"I know." Kusunagi rudely interrupted him. "This is why I’m here." He took out a knife somewhere from his pants, and Asterio instinctively backed away from him._

_Kusunagi noticed this reaction and sighed in exasperation. He walked to Asterio's closet and twanged the point of his knife to one of his closet doors._

_Asterio's scared expression turned to one of irritation and anger. "Are you seriously targeting my clothes for this?"_

_And Kusunagi dragged the knife vertically, and Asterio became even more miffed._

_When Kusunagi took the knife out of the line he had made, it opened up a rift, and Asterio sat up, amazed._

_"How-?"_

_Kusunagi turned back to him, his expression serious. "Come on, your true heritage awaits."_

That was four years ago, when he was still a nobody in both worlds. He was still a nobody in the modern world, but not in the realms. He had a lot of friends, and most of them were his schoolmates, e.g Kusunagi Tsurugi, Gamliel Mansfield, Belle Wolf. He was appointed to a council member and the representative of Philippine Mythology after they had known his parentage.

Unlike his council mates, who were the actual _rulers_ of their respective mythological realms, he had never desired to rule the barangay of his realm. He leaves that responsibility to Aurora Aurelio, a daughter of Haliya, a moon goddess (don't ask, like all mythologies, the Philippines are inconsistent with them too). Kusunagi Tsurugi became an emperor of Ancient Japan a year ago, Gamliel became King of the Norse, and Adelpha is now the Empress of the Roman Empire.

He doesn't mind, really. He's already living a double life, and it'd be a feat not to get heart attacks every week due to school stress and mythological stress. If he ever gets to be in charge of a village, he'll become like Kusunagi. Or Gamliel. Gods those two are not literally the worst but they're stressed twenty four seven. Especially since they were cleaning up the war clutter in their respective realms.

Imagine being out of the modern world for a month...

Yeah.

* * *

Darkness.

That's all Asterio sees.

He seems to be floating in midair, no solid ground to step on, no skies nor ceilings to look at.

It was dark, and he hates it.

His wavy black hair falls to his shoulders. Asterio floats over to white objects- spherical and geometrical shapes, in all different sizes.

He finds a hooded figure in the distance, sitting near the flames. Asterio sighs. His father has come to visit him once again in his dream. He walks towards the flames and sits across from the hooded figure. Asterio glares at him with intensity, until the hooded man notices his presence.

"Hello, Asterio", he says with a slight chuckle. "It has been a while, hm?"

"Hello, Meylupa", Asterio replies.

Oh, and also, even if that was his father, Asterio does not consider him a part of his family at all. Meylupa was a Philippine primordial earth god, the so-called most powerful god in the Philippines. In his earliest vision of Meylupa, the god told him to tell the others that he is the son of Mapulon, a god of seasons and medicine. Thankfully, the god didn't mind.

Meylupa laughs, and Asterio shivers. How did his mother love this bastard? He was worse than a deadbeat and always absent father; he's a deadbeat _and_ a normally present father, even if it is in his dreams.

"Are you developing your abilities?", Meylupa asks. He always asks this and Asterio denies. He doesn't want to learn anything that has Meylupa in it.

"No and I will never."

Meylupa shrugs. "What a shame."

Silence.

"You know, my dear Asterio, Azazel Yamato appearing with no memory in the Hotel is very symbolic."

Asterio raises a brow. "Symbolic how?"

"He is a scapegoat to an even bigger event. His dear mother wishes for him to lead a happy life."

"'Dear mother?'" Asterio raises a brow. From all his life, he has never heard of Azazel having a parental figure, even if you count The Lord. He says he was just an orphan, and Asterio believes it. He remembers the words that spilled out of his mouth, the reason why Azazel hates him so much.

_"No surprise you don't have parents; they must've regret making someone as messed up as you."_

Years after saying that, he's finally realized that no matter how much he hates someone like Yamato, he shouldn't have said something like that. Even if Yamato doesn't display feelings towards others, that sentence is what driven him to hate Asterio Aquiano, something he has confessed to his friends.

"Well, you just have to see for yourself in his trial." With that last line, Asterio wakes up, covered in sweat.

That was normally an occurrence, Meylupa trying to become a good father even after he had failed him enough times, but to bring up Azazel Yamato in the conversation is incredibly peculiar. And what was Meylupa saying, about Azazel's _'Dear Mother'_? Azazel has never known his parents his entire life, and Asterio has some suspicions about that. To hear from Meylupa about Azazel's mother watching over him, Asterio can come up with one conclusion.

Well, that's just incredulous, to think that Azazel Yamato, a killer of demigods, is a demigod as well. Asterio clenches his fists, his jaw fixated as he glares through a wall. That's just hypocritical of Azazel. He knows that Azazel unaware of being a demigod is the most plausible situation, but Asterio really wants to kill him. He looks at the clock only to find that it was past midnight. Yamato's trial will be held in the morning, and he's pretty sure that everyone who works in the court room are now preparing for the capture's trial. Asterio decides to help them; after all, he was the one who had initiated this trial in the first place. He gets up and opens the door, only to find Ms. Fish in front of him, motioning to knock.

Asterio bites back a squeak of horror; he hates it when people in Hotel MYth would just come and surprise him in the middle of the night. Especially an employee who's been feeding off the walls of each hallway for fifty years like Ms. Arlene Fish. He doesn't like her, and she as well, but she _is_ the best persecutor in the hotel. Not like everyone needs to be persuaded about the bad things Yamato has done when they can just _show_ it.

"I have filed and summarized all of Yamato's doings to us", Ms. Fish says in that excruciatingly boring and monotonous voice she always has, and Asterio already wants to bang his head to a wall. She was quite an imitation of his irritation, and it shows perfectly. "Shall I put this on the desk of the judge and get Yamato?"

Asterio looks at the clock, then back at Ms. Fish. "No. The trial will start at eight, so you can fetch him after I am done talking to him. For now, go get some rest and I'll arrange the court trial myself."

Ms. Fish lets out an awkward chuckle, comparable to a dying fish. Asterio cringes at that. "Aight. Fine, Mister Aquiano, have a good night, may in every gods be with you." And she walks off, leaving Asterio to walk to another direction, to the elevator down to the court.

After hours of deprived sleep and looking through paperwork and settling disputes between the members, Asterio wants to sleep. But he has one more stop, and that is checking on Yamato. Part of him wants to visit him because he wants to taunt at him, to make him feel superior to the enemy he had once faced. Another because he was... _worried_? Asterio scoffs mentally. Why would he be worried about a killer of the innocent? He shrugs those feelings off as he sighs.

"All right, I'm just going to go talk to Yamato", Asterio says as a farewell to the employees in the court room, and Adelpha looks up with a raised brow.

"Ya sure?", she asks. "He might try to kill you."

Asterio sighs. "I have weapons, he does not. I'm sure I can easily overpower him, 'Delpha."

She rolls her eyes. "Don't call me that, Aster."

"Don't call _me_ that."

Asterio leaves the court room and starts to search for the room where Yamato could be in, when he finally finds it. He gulps, ready to face the almighty warlord himself and not the defenseless boy he has subdued. He opens the door, and he sees Yamato tied to the bed, with a neutral expression. His scared face turns to an emotion like glee, as he smirks down at Yamato. He looks at his bandaged foot, and thinks to himself how Yamato doesn't deserve this act of kindness. He deserves nothing more than an infected foot.

"The great Azazel Yamato", Asterio says snidely, clapping slowly as he makes his way to Azazel. "Finally trapped inside Hotel MYth." He can't help it; he wants Yamato to _feel_ humiliated, and it proves to be _ineffective_ , as Azazel frowns.

"That's the name of this place?", Azazel asks. "Sounds like a soap brand of some kind." He was glaring at Asterio straight in the eyes, and Asterio falters a bit, his smirk removed from his face. It seems that Yamato's glare is the only thing that reminds him of... _Yamato_. And how _dare_ he insult the Hotel! He walks towards Azazel, footsteps echoing as he sits beside the tied up boy. It doesn't look and sound intimidating, but oh well, at least Yamato is getting humiliated even more.

"Don't insult the mythological intersections, Yamato", he snarls.

"Well, I want to insult whatever you just said." Azazel raises an eyebrow. Yes. He also had Yamato's scrutinizing raised eyebrows.

"Then we'll just take you to the head gods. They'd vaporize you easily enough." Asterio's voice sounds promising enough, even to himself.

Azazel curiously blinks at the mention of the word 'gods', something that Yamato never does. Well, sometimes he does, but, like, in a _deadly_ manner. "What do you mean by 'head gods'?"

_Is he serious?_ , he thinks. _Why is he so... oblivious?_ Asterio furrows his eyebrow, whilst biting his upper lip. He seems concerned, but it's obviously not because of Azazel's well being. "Seriously? You also don't remember the many times you swore and cursed at the head gods?"

Azazel slowly shakes his head. "Amnesia, remember?"

And Asterio _really_ wants to believe it, but part of his mind doesn't want to believe. "I still don't believe you."

"Come on!" Azazel tries to sit up, trying not to move his wounded foot that much. "I can't fight like how you described me. And plus, I'm pretty sure my past self won't stand getting captured, now I'm here. I also don't know about the head gods you were talking about. Believe me now?"

Asterio bites his lip, hesitating, but he lets out a, "Nah."

"Fuck you."

Asterio has had enough as he sits up and walks towards the door. He has heard enough of Yamato, and he wants him _out_ of this Hotel in a fast way. Disrespectful in his old life, still disrespectful in his new life. "You too, Yamato. You'll be brought into trial in... twenty minutes. Get ready, because no one's going to play defense with you."

"Nice reassurance for a goddamn amnesiac", Azazel calls right after him, and Asterio closes the goddamn door.

He sighs in relief, as he goes back to the court room to find Miss Fish there. He tells her that she can now fetch Yamato ten minutes from now so he can prepare himself for the trial. He goes to his table, right next to the judge, Agneta, a daughter of Apollo. She looks at him with a concerned look and Asterio smiles up at her.

"Big day today", he says. "So I'm really nervous and excited at the same time."

Agneta smiles at him. "Well, that's always everyone's feelings for the big day."

Then Ms. Fish opens the door, and everyone stares at her and Yamato, looking at him until Asterio all fixes them a glare. He should be the only one to glare at him, especially when poor Adelpha Aine is the one defending for him. Honestly, one of her weaknesses is being too kind and compassionate to others, willing to give people who had done wrong a chance.

* * *

Asterio narrows his eyes at the standing accused, who was quivering and gulping throughout the entire trial. Asterio has been listening through the whole trial, adjusting the papers and looking at the trial with excited, then disinterested eyes. He and the others had gone through a brief recess, and everyone had come up with a conclusion: _Kill Azazel Yamato_. Not even Adelpha can be able to defend him now. Asterio taps the cold mahogany table with his chocolate fingers. He sighs.

Agneta's normally calm and nice smile is morphed into a stern expression she always expresses whenever things are serious. She is one of the best judges; calm, collected, unbiased and fair. After all, her father was the god of justice. Well, _one_ of the gods of justice. She was holding her gavel, staring at Azazel, who cowers before her.

Needless to say, Asterio is in _love_ with Yamato who cowers before others, being intimidated rather than being intimidating. Fuck, he's really getting _turned on_ at the prospect of Azazel Yamato not having any more memories. What is he even thinking? He groans and looks at Agneta, who meets his eyes and nods. It is time for the sentence.

"Me and the delegates have been talking about it, Yamato", Agneta speaks, her voice stern and cold, not like the soft one he had heard earlier. This makes the babbling Yamato close his mouth as he looks at Agneta, panic in his eyes. Asterio slumps on his seat, smirking. If Kusunagi and Gamliel were here, though, it'd be perfect. "And your statements and defenses have left us with no choice. You are sentenced to death in two weeks from time."

Asterio likes the way Yamato's face looks like. All afraid, tears in his eyes; but why does part of him feel so sorry for this killer? As Azazel is being hauled away by the guards, something peculiar happens to the court room.

Number one, Asterio should be sitting on a wooden chair, not a tree branch. Number two, it looks like someone moved the outdoors to the indoors, as everything and everywhere looks like a garden with variety of plants and little critters roaming around. Number three, everything smells, sounds, looks like _springtime_. Azazel Yamato's chains are transformed to vines, and he wiggles his way out. Everyone is quite surprised, so they pay no mind to Azazel's escape. Except for Asterio, of course.

He jumps from the tree trunk that used to be a mahogany table and lands right in front of his enemy, gripping his dagger as he growls. Azazel frowns at him, as if he did not mind being threatened by Asterio. Asterio stops as he looks around to find Agneta and the others looking at a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, her skin purple. She was wearing a frilly black dress and had blue flowers over her hair.

"Do not hurt my son in anyway", she says in a melodious voice, and Asterio drops his dagger. One word repeats in his mind.

_'Dear Mother.'_

The woman - _no,_ the goddess right in front of them, is Azazel's mother, the Greek goddess of springtime.

Persephone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I'm really sorry for skipping the trial scene! I really suck at making trials, and this is not my best work yet, and quite disappointed with the way they were being written, and I hope that I will fix this in the second draft until the first book is almost perfect to be published. I hope. So enjoy a long chapter!


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